CEDAW 51st session
The fifty-first session of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), will take place in February 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland, and is scheduled to consider reports from the following seven State parties:
- Algeria
- Brazil
- Grenada
- Jordan
- Norway
- Republic of the Congo
- Zimbabwe
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 1979, CEDAW is an international human rights treaty that focuses on women's rights and women's issues worldwide. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. CEDAW is not only an international bill of rights for women but also an agenda of action. Countries that ratify CEDAW agree to take concrete steps to improve the status of women and end discrimination and violence against women.